Saints head into Betfred Super League 2018 hungry for silverware

SAINTS head into Friday’s Super League opener against Castleford Tigers with coach Justin Holbrook admitting the target for 2018 will be to deliver silverware.

Holbrook has been delighted with Saints preparations in the off season, which have given him the opportunity to mould the playing style that supporters hope will propel the club to another level this year.

Setting out the objectives for the season, the Saints coach told the Star: “The aims are no different than those of anyone else – we want to win trophies. We have not won the Challenge Cup since 2008 and have won one Super League title in 10 years.

“We have passionate fans here and it would be great to deliver – but we have got to work hard.

“We want the supporters to enjoy watching us play – and we want to try and win every game. We want the supporters to be proud of us being part of their town.”

Meanwhile, Holbrook, has backed Ben Barba to light up the competition.

He said: “I have high expectations of him. He showed glimpses of what he could do last year but he was going to be rusty when others had played 26 games and he was playing his first – that was always going to be tough.

“But it is a different story this time. I think he is in for a great year.”

Speaking on Monday, Holbrook admitted he still has some thinking to do before naming his 17.

He added: “I’m close to naming my team but will look at a couple more training sessions. Picking a team for round one is difficult and one of the hardest jobs as a coach because everyone has trained so well during pre season.

“We have some great options – and the half backs is still probably the hardest spots to settle on.”

Ipsoregulated

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